Stevie Nicks Concert
Back in May or June, I found out that Stevie Nicks was coming to Phoenix for a concert. Now, I love her probably more than any other artist, so naturally I was extremely excited to go see the show. I go way back with Stevie and Fleetwood Mac and first discovered them with the Rumors album (didn't we all?). I still have the original LP of Rumors and actually have a working turntable to play it on (I still drag out the records on Wednesdays and play them). Of course I now have most of Fleetwood Mac on CD's, but I could play the records if I wanted to. So I have followed the musical careers of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks, Lindsey Buckingham, and even Christine McVie ever since. I have all Fleetwood Mac music with Stevie and Lindsey (as well as some pre-Stevie/Lindsey), all Stevie Nicks solo work, and all Lindsey Buckingham solo too. Fleetwood Mac is my favorite group and Stevie is my favorite artist. So I was very excited to once again go and see Stevie in concert.
This wasn't my first Stevie Nicks concert. I first saw her solo in 1989 when she actually came to Tucson at the TCC (she has not returned since). I then saw her in 2000 in Phoenix with her "friends" Sheryl Crow, Lindsey Buckingham, and Chris Isaak (Jose and Pudge went with me). Jose and I saw her again in 2005 at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, where she played again this past Saturday nite. I also had the opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac for the first time in 2003 in Phoenix at America West Arena. Clearly I love these artists and relish the chance to see them anytime I can.
I purchased tickets way in advance and told Jose that he would have to go with me, as I couldn't find anyone else to go with me. A lot of my friends are younger than me and go Stevie who? Or Fleetwood who? Infants!! All of them!! I didn't bother to ask most of them and the old farts that I did ask said no. So Jose has to go by default because he's my husband (he hates Stevie Nicks, by the way). And even though I have forced him to go to see her many times in the past, it is his duty to go with me if I can't find anyone else. That is the price one must pay for being in a relationship. You have to do a lot of things you don't want or ordinarily wouldn't do. Deal with it. And Jose is very good about doing that.
Well, he hadn't been feeling too good on Saturday, but never said he didn't want to go. We also had a shitload of rain that day and I felt a strange feeling that something was going to go wrong with this whole event. I half thought we might not make it to Phoenix if the roads were flooded, but I was determined to try. We did hit a bad spot of rain on the way and shortly after that Jose told me to pull over because he was going to throw up. So I did and he hung his head out the door for awhile, but never threw up. I asked him if I should turn around and go home and he said no. He continued to feel sick and he decided that we should get a hotel room for the night (we hadn't planned on staying overnight). He would try to throw up there and then go to the concert. Well, he never did throw up, but it became clear to me that I couldn't make him go to the concert. Which then meant that I would have to go by myself !! I am not one to go places by myself except for shopping. I don't go to movies or restaurants by myself. It makes me feel very self-conscious. So here I am, now faced with the prospect of going to this concert alone. I honestly thought Jose would make himself go, but when I selflessly told him he didn't have to, he took me up on it! Fear gripped my mind as I realized I would either have to go alone to this concert or stay with Jose in the hotel room and miss the concert. I couldn't miss the concert! We're talking Stevie Nicks here! I had been looking forward to this for months! Missing the concert was not an option, so my mind slowly realized that I would have to make the trek to the Dodge Theater alone. I could do this, I told myself. It wouldn't be much fun to go alone and people would think I was a loser for not having any friends, but who cares? I was not going to miss Stevie for anything! When it came down to the wire, Jose was insisting that I couldn't go alone and that he would go with me. But I said no! How could I have enjoyed the concert knowing that Jose felt like shit and didn't want to be there? I decided that my best option was to actually go alone, as much as I didn't want to. I could have made Jose suffer for the expense of my happiness (and I thought about it), but I decided this might be good for me to go alone. I rely too much on Jose for security and support.
So I got into my car and hopped onto I-10 toward downtown Phoenix. I know my way around downtown pretty good, as we've been there many times. I knew that I could find the theater with no problem and as I started driving away from the hotel, I realized that I could do this! It would be a bit uncomfortable (I stepped one million miles outside of my comfort zone that night), but the alternative was to miss Stevie and that was not an option. Jose pleaded with me to stay with him and miss the concert (I don't know if he was serious or not). And I felt a twinge of guilt and selfishness for not staying with him, but we're talking Stevie Nicks here! He knows that I am obsessed with her and I knew he would understand.
I got to the concert and bought myself a beer. I knew that might help me to relax and perhaps not obsess on the fact that I was at this concert alone. I called Jose a couple of times on my cell phone (mostly for the benefit of people sitting around me). See, I'm not a loser! I know people and I'm calling them right now! After awhile I realized how ridiculous I was being and put my cell phone away. Okay, people, Steven Beebe is here at the concert alone. Go ahead and laugh and make fun of me and then let's get on with the show! By now the beer was helping me to relax some also (ultimately it ended up giving me a headache). I did still feel self-conscious for most of the evening, but it didn't overwhelm me and I did enjoy the concert. Unfortunately, this girl, who was also by herself, decided I needed some company, and wrecked part of the show for me. She kept trying to engage me in conversation (I ignored her as much as I could without being rude), but she wouldn't give up. She was drinking a huge beer and I could tell it wasn't her first one! She kept on and on and I wanted to push her into the aisle and say get the fuck away from me, you stupid cunt! I am gay! I don't want you! Now that I think about it, she did ruin the second half of the concert for me, but it's my fault for not telling her to get lost. Another lesson I was supposed to learn that night.......Bottom line: I faced my fear of going somewhere alone and even had a good time for part of the evening. I think I started to enjoy being there alone. I could focus solely on my Stevie and immerse myself in her performance. I didn't have to worry if Jose was having a good time, if he was feeling sick, or listen to him put Stevie down. Then God decided I was enjoying myself too much and sent that bitch over! I'm sure she was a very nice person, but she was drinking a lot, dancing around, and being loud. Not my style at all! For some strange reason, I attract people like that. They are drawn to me, probably because they sense I am safe and non-threatening. And they are the opposite of me. They attract attention to themselves and I shrink from it: no attention, please! It was quite a night and quite an experience. The concert was FABULOUS!, with a capital F! Rock on, Gold Dust Woman! I hope to go to many Stevie concerts in heaven because it is a heavenly experience.
This wasn't my first Stevie Nicks concert. I first saw her solo in 1989 when she actually came to Tucson at the TCC (she has not returned since). I then saw her in 2000 in Phoenix with her "friends" Sheryl Crow, Lindsey Buckingham, and Chris Isaak (Jose and Pudge went with me). Jose and I saw her again in 2005 at the Dodge Theater in Phoenix, where she played again this past Saturday nite. I also had the opportunity to see Fleetwood Mac for the first time in 2003 in Phoenix at America West Arena. Clearly I love these artists and relish the chance to see them anytime I can.
I purchased tickets way in advance and told Jose that he would have to go with me, as I couldn't find anyone else to go with me. A lot of my friends are younger than me and go Stevie who? Or Fleetwood who? Infants!! All of them!! I didn't bother to ask most of them and the old farts that I did ask said no. So Jose has to go by default because he's my husband (he hates Stevie Nicks, by the way). And even though I have forced him to go to see her many times in the past, it is his duty to go with me if I can't find anyone else. That is the price one must pay for being in a relationship. You have to do a lot of things you don't want or ordinarily wouldn't do. Deal with it. And Jose is very good about doing that.
Well, he hadn't been feeling too good on Saturday, but never said he didn't want to go. We also had a shitload of rain that day and I felt a strange feeling that something was going to go wrong with this whole event. I half thought we might not make it to Phoenix if the roads were flooded, but I was determined to try. We did hit a bad spot of rain on the way and shortly after that Jose told me to pull over because he was going to throw up. So I did and he hung his head out the door for awhile, but never threw up. I asked him if I should turn around and go home and he said no. He continued to feel sick and he decided that we should get a hotel room for the night (we hadn't planned on staying overnight). He would try to throw up there and then go to the concert. Well, he never did throw up, but it became clear to me that I couldn't make him go to the concert. Which then meant that I would have to go by myself !! I am not one to go places by myself except for shopping. I don't go to movies or restaurants by myself. It makes me feel very self-conscious. So here I am, now faced with the prospect of going to this concert alone. I honestly thought Jose would make himself go, but when I selflessly told him he didn't have to, he took me up on it! Fear gripped my mind as I realized I would either have to go alone to this concert or stay with Jose in the hotel room and miss the concert. I couldn't miss the concert! We're talking Stevie Nicks here! I had been looking forward to this for months! Missing the concert was not an option, so my mind slowly realized that I would have to make the trek to the Dodge Theater alone. I could do this, I told myself. It wouldn't be much fun to go alone and people would think I was a loser for not having any friends, but who cares? I was not going to miss Stevie for anything! When it came down to the wire, Jose was insisting that I couldn't go alone and that he would go with me. But I said no! How could I have enjoyed the concert knowing that Jose felt like shit and didn't want to be there? I decided that my best option was to actually go alone, as much as I didn't want to. I could have made Jose suffer for the expense of my happiness (and I thought about it), but I decided this might be good for me to go alone. I rely too much on Jose for security and support.
So I got into my car and hopped onto I-10 toward downtown Phoenix. I know my way around downtown pretty good, as we've been there many times. I knew that I could find the theater with no problem and as I started driving away from the hotel, I realized that I could do this! It would be a bit uncomfortable (I stepped one million miles outside of my comfort zone that night), but the alternative was to miss Stevie and that was not an option. Jose pleaded with me to stay with him and miss the concert (I don't know if he was serious or not). And I felt a twinge of guilt and selfishness for not staying with him, but we're talking Stevie Nicks here! He knows that I am obsessed with her and I knew he would understand.
I got to the concert and bought myself a beer. I knew that might help me to relax and perhaps not obsess on the fact that I was at this concert alone. I called Jose a couple of times on my cell phone (mostly for the benefit of people sitting around me). See, I'm not a loser! I know people and I'm calling them right now! After awhile I realized how ridiculous I was being and put my cell phone away. Okay, people, Steven Beebe is here at the concert alone. Go ahead and laugh and make fun of me and then let's get on with the show! By now the beer was helping me to relax some also (ultimately it ended up giving me a headache). I did still feel self-conscious for most of the evening, but it didn't overwhelm me and I did enjoy the concert. Unfortunately, this girl, who was also by herself, decided I needed some company, and wrecked part of the show for me. She kept trying to engage me in conversation (I ignored her as much as I could without being rude), but she wouldn't give up. She was drinking a huge beer and I could tell it wasn't her first one! She kept on and on and I wanted to push her into the aisle and say get the fuck away from me, you stupid cunt! I am gay! I don't want you! Now that I think about it, she did ruin the second half of the concert for me, but it's my fault for not telling her to get lost. Another lesson I was supposed to learn that night.......Bottom line: I faced my fear of going somewhere alone and even had a good time for part of the evening. I think I started to enjoy being there alone. I could focus solely on my Stevie and immerse myself in her performance. I didn't have to worry if Jose was having a good time, if he was feeling sick, or listen to him put Stevie down. Then God decided I was enjoying myself too much and sent that bitch over! I'm sure she was a very nice person, but she was drinking a lot, dancing around, and being loud. Not my style at all! For some strange reason, I attract people like that. They are drawn to me, probably because they sense I am safe and non-threatening. And they are the opposite of me. They attract attention to themselves and I shrink from it: no attention, please! It was quite a night and quite an experience. The concert was FABULOUS!, with a capital F! Rock on, Gold Dust Woman! I hope to go to many Stevie concerts in heaven because it is a heavenly experience.
posted by Steven at 11:27:00 AM
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